Chargers defeat Kerrville Tivy Antlers

By Mike Reeder, Contributing Writer

Published 5:16 pm, Monday, December 23, 2013

Photo: Mike Reeder / For Northwest Weekly

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Boerne Champion guard David Zuniga (14) finishes off a fast break with a jump shot during the Chargers' game against the Kerrville Tivy Antlers last Friday. It was the District 72-4A opener for both teams. The Chargers won, 58-45. less

Boerne Champion guard David Zuniga (14) finishes off a fast break with a jump shot during the Chargers' game against the Kerrville Tivy Antlers last Friday. It was the District 72-4A opener for both teams. The ... more

Photo: Mike Reeder / For Northwest Weekly

Chargers defeat Kerrville Tivy Antlers

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Don't let the final score mislead you. The Boerne Champion boys basketball team's 58-45 victory over the Kerrville Tivy Antlers in both teams' District 72-4A opener was anything but easy.

The Chargers thoroughly dominated their traditional rival in the first 24 minutes of Friday's game in the packed Champion gym and took a 17-point lead into the final quarter. But as they usually do, the Antlers mounted a late run and pulled within five points with an uncomfortable amount of time still left on the clock.

It was precisely the type of scenario Tivy follows to win so many of its games. But with the Antlers turning up the pressure and the game seemingly about to slip out of their hands, the Chargers stiffened, made the free throws they had to make and turned back the Tivy tide.

“(The officials) were letting them be pretty physical and we were worried, but our guards did such a good job of handling that pressure,” Champion Coach Stan Leech said. “Our length was big tonight. We hit our free throws and that was really big.”

The Chargers built their early advantage thanks in large part to a monstrous game from center Dillon Buchanan. The 6-7 junior scored 12 points and seemed to come up with nearly every loose or contested ball.

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“We had total confidence,” Buchanan said. “They've been a rival for a long time and we'd been waiting to do this tonight.”

With Buchanan wreaking havoc under the basket, Champion's outside shooters took advantage; scoring 30 first-half points without a single trip to the line. And when Tivy mounted its late charge, senior point guard Quentin Lenard (18-points) held the Chargers together with adroit ball handling and good decisions.

“We really came together,” Lenard said. “We prepared early for these guys and made our shots.”

Lady Chargers

It was a different story for the Lady Chargers (11-6, 2-1), who lost their first district game at Kerrville on Friday after getting a 2-0 start in league play. The Lady Antlers led from start to finish and were up by 11 at halftime. The Champion girls whittled Tivy's lead to one point (24-25) heading into the fourth quarter. But the Lady Antlers reeled in nine points before Champion scored again and closed out the game with five straight free throws for the 36-26 win.

Earlier in the week, senior guard Mallory Williams led three Lady Chargers in double figures with 25 points in a 60-41 home court win over Kyle Lehman.